Drew Playground

Located on Fulton Avenue between East 169th and East 170th Street, this playground is one of the city’s oldest public spaces, serving as an open recreation area for more than 150 years. It was originally named Fulton Park after the American steamboat pioneer Robert Fulton (1765-1815) and the adjacent avenue of that name. On June 18, 1987, Commissioner Stern renamed the property Drew Playground in remembrance of Daniel Drew (1797-1879), a lesser-known steamboat entrepreneur. Drew was born in Carmel, New York, where he spent his early life on a farm and attended a rural school. After achieving considerable success in the cattle industry, he moved to New York City in 1829. In 1834, Drew purchased a large number of shares in the New York-to-Peekskill steamboat line -- a company he hoped would compete with the boats of industrialist and financier Cornelius Vanderbilt (1794-1877). Drew founded another steamship company, the People’s Line, in 1840. In 1844, he turned his…